Six Major Causes of Inflammation...

All of us experience inflammation. Whether it's a sprained, swollen ankle, or a throbbing headache, inflammation asserts its presence in a distinctive way. It causes pain, swelling and heat. This is known as acute inflammation and it's an essential part of our immune system.

But sometimes inflammation doesn't repair your body. Instead, it releases inflammatory compounds that result in chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation leads to illness, disease, accelerated ageing and weight gain.

Often, we inadvertently create inflammation in our body, so it's important to identify the causes. Here are some surprising causes of inflammation.

Excess weight
Carrying extra kilos can result in an inflammatory response within fat cells. As we age, some of the cells present in our fat tissues get older and promote inflammation.

Stressful job
Work anxiety and chronic stress have a direct effect on inflammation. The hormone cortisol plays an important role in controlling your inflammatory response. Chronic stress diminishes cortisol's ability to regulate, leaving inflammation unchecked.

Smoking habit
Other than its numerous health risks, smoking also increases certain indicators of inflammation, including a high white blood cell count and elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a substance produced by the liver.

Evening drink
When alcohol metabolizes in your body, it produces poisonous by-products that worsen inflammation. The liver is so actively involved in the process, it may be specifically susceptible to the effects of unwarranted drinking. The accumulation of fat in the liver can result in chronic liver inflammation, which in turn leads to hepatitis or cirrhosis.

Cooking oil
Get rid of inflammatory cooking oils such as vegetable oil, soy oil or corn oil. The high omega-6 content and low omega-3 content promotes inflammation. Replace them with anti-inflammatory oils such as olive oil or coconut oil.

Sugar addiction
Sugar is the chief inflammatory food. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup have serious inflammatory health effects that include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and even ageing.

For more health and beauty tips, keep reading this blog daily...

Five Hair Air-drying Mistakes Ladies make...

Curling, straightening, a super polished blowout—we’re advocates of doing what we need to do to get the hair that we want, but it’s fair to say that sometimes our hair just needs a break. That’s when we turn to air drying which, truth be told, is a little bit more involved than it seems. If wash-and-go is your thing, then by all means, go for it… but if you find yourself unhappy with the results, you may be making one of these 5 major air drying mistakes.

Mistake 1: Sleeping on Wet Hair
Sleeping on wet hair seems like a good idea—shower before bed, hit the sack, and wake up with dry locks in the morning. Not so! Wet hair is extra susceptible to damage and breakage, and the combination of cotton pillowcases and tossing and turning can not only cause tension that tugs at and breaks hair, but tons of frizz and tangles. Avoid it at all costs, even if it means giving hair a rough blow dry. You’re better off exposing it to a bit of heat.

Mistake 2: Rubbing Hair with a Towel
Using a bath towel is considered the standard way to dry off the hair after washing, but if done incorrectly, it’s basically the fastest route to breakage and frizz. Instead of hopping out of the shower and twisting hair to release excess moisture, then rubbing dry with a towel—both things you should not do—use your hands to gently squeeze out extra water in large sections, then do the same with a towel, blotting and squeezing the hair rather than rubbing or wringing.

Mistake 3: Leaving Hair Too Wet
It goes without saying that proper towel drying technique is critical, but leaving soaking wet hair to dry on its own won’t do you much good, either. The more water you can absorb before leaving it to air dry, the better, as super wet hair will just take forever to dry. Because wet hair is damaged more easily, this is no good, not to mention that leaving it wet for too long tends to result in frizz (and lots of it).

Mistake 4: Not Using Product
Part of the allure of air drying your hair, aside from avoiding the potential damage from heat styling, is the effortlessness of a natural, “I woke up like this” texture, but that doesn’t mean you should skip product. All hair types should follow up towel drying with a detangling leave-in conditioner and use a wide-tooth comb to break up knots and smooth out the hair before adding product. You know best what your hair needs, whether it’s volumizer, curl-enhancing cream, or a texturizing spray, but we recommend starting with a frizz-fighting serum and a light-hold styling cream.

Mistake 5: Using a Hair Tie
Hair is at its most fragile when it’s wet, so pulling it back into a ponytail or bun as it’s drying is a huge cause of breakage. Using hair ties will also result in strange kinks and texture once hair has dried… and furthermore, sleeping on wet hair that’s also in a bun to get waves is a recipe for disaster. If waves are what you want, try using a balm or styling cream and twisting hair in sections as it dries so that you don’t put stress on your strands.

For more helpful beauty tips, keep reading this blog daily...